Devil's Arms
by Eternally Ebony
Summary: One of Darla's ladies asks the penguins, lemurs, and Marlene to collect a group of weapons called 'Devil's Arms'. Enamored by the promise of power, they agree, but something just isn't right here... multichapter. No pairings.
1. Nebilim

**Disclaimer: PoM and ToS do not belong to me.**

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"_A cursed weapon. It's background is a mystery."_

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There was nothing different with that morning. Training, breakfast, the usual. But Private had a bad feeling, accompanied by a splitting headache. He usually didn't feel this type of foreboding. The last time he did was the time the baboons had stolen the 'groove' of King Julian. The queasy feeling in his stomach that informed him that something was off with the universe.

The splitting headache didn't help matters either.

So that morning, he wasn't completely surprised when Marlene infiltrated the HQ -getting an earful from Skipper in the process- and informed them that one of the baboons wanted to speak with her, the penguins, and the lemurs. Skipper smirked, agreeing, and signaled the four penguins to take off. At that moment, Private realized something was about to happen. But being young and untrained in spiritual comprehension, he didn't know just why or how or even if it was bad. All he knew was that by the end of the day, they would be involved with something they probably should have said 'no' to.

But, being the young, obedient soldier he is, he kept these thoughts to himself as the penguin team arrived in the habitat of the baboons. The lemurs were already there, and they didn't seem too happy to be. Or at least, Julian didn't.

"Why am I to be wasting my time here anyway?"

Maurice sighed. "Because, your majesty, the baboon girl promised us a reward for doing what she asked. Whatever that is." The lemur king's attitude shifted, going from bored and generally disappointed with life to excited and pleased.

"Oh yes! Where is she, anyways?"

Maurice shrugged. The penguins approached their lemur rivals, Skipper and Julian glaring at each other as they passed. Just the usual. Private sat on the grass, not sure how long they'd have to wait. As it turns out, not that long.

The baboon, with her gray fur, swung through the trees with no trouble and landed perfectly in the middle of the group. They took a moment to watch at her as she swung, flipped in mid-air, and landed on her feet. The entirety of the group gaped, Skipper whispering to Kowalski to add that move to their roster. The baboon smiled kindly at the beings surrounding her.

"Well, I'm assuming y'all know why y'all is here?" She asked in the same accent Darla has. The shook their heads; no, they had no idea. She shook her head. "Of course you don't. I'll let y'all in on a secret, so long as y'all promise to do me a lil favor." Skipper frowned.

"I don't like this. Kowalski." He turned to his strategist, who scribbled down things quickly on a white board.

"Well, it depends, sir," the tallest penguin stated. "You could accept. That would mean adventure, excitement ending in a lesson on the importance of balance in the universe, or you could decline, and we can go home."

The shorter penguin rubbed the bottom of his beak. "Hmm, tempting. What do you think, Rico?"

The crazy penguin with a mohawk gave him the penguin equivalent of a thumbs up. Apparently, he liked the idea of an adventure. Skipper nodded, turning to his youngest teammate. "Private? What do you think?"

The young penguin, moments before lost in thought, suddenly snapped out of it and turned to Skipper. "Wha? Oh, sorry, sir. If you think it's a good idea, I'll be right by your side." Private didn't mean to sidestep the question, but he still didn't know how to react to the mission. On one hand, the others seemed interested. On the other, his gut instinct told him something bad was going to happen. Skipper frowned, obviously not satisfied with his answer, but turned back to the baboon lady.

"Is that a yes?" She asked. The leader nodded. She turned to Marlene and Julian, who also nodded in consent. She smiled. "Good. Now pay close attention.

"For years, my family has been plagued by a curse. Ya see, years ago there was an evil being called Nebilim whom had learned to master the aura of darkness. He sealed this power into nine weapons, became the lord of darkness, and tried to take over the world. Luckily, my ancestors stopped him. But victory came with a price that day.

"He cursed us. When we reach a current age, the weapons would inflict illness upon us. My family all fell to this disease. I alone have alluded it's grasp, but I can feel it now. It's in me; trying to devour me whole. All this week I've felt it. No, it's not contagious, but it will kill me. Which is why I need your help.

"The weapons that inflicted this curse can be used to undo it. It's taken years of research, but I finally believe I have it. I can perform the ritual, but I still need the ancient weapons. And before you go doubting me, know that they contain mass power. When I finish uncursing myself, the ultimate power of the weapons will be yours to control. All you've gotta do, is collect them."

The eight animals sat in silence, contemplating what this meant. The baboon sneered. "What, you don't believe me? Well, I'll prove it to ya!" Her hands pulled something out from behind her back, presenting it to the group.

Twin blades. One of them was purple, with a silver hilt, and an eye on it, along with spikes placed close to the hilt. The fact that it seemed to be wiggling didn't calm Private's foreboding feeling. It's twin was no more appealing. It was designed to look like a horn, brownish with ridges all through it. The hilt, however, was bright red and had a mouth on it. It may have just been his imagination, but Private found the weapon scary and fearsome. Just seeing it increased his headache tenfold.

Skipper frowned, obviously freaked out by the swords. "And... just what are they?"

"These," The baboon explained, "Are the twin swords, Phobos and Phrike. Together they make Nebilim, one of the nine Devil's Arms. Devil's Arms, by the way, are the weapons I told you about. They carry immense power. Merely holding them gives you a sense of control and power over other living beings." She offered the weapon to Skipper, who took them into his grip.

"Along with Nebilim's Key," She handed Kowalski a strange looking key. "You should be more than able to collect the Devil's Arms. Once I'm through with them, they're all yours. Whataya say?" Skipper looked to Kowalski and Rico, who nodded ascent. He then turned to Private.

Something inside of Private screamed at him to talk the others out of this, to inform them that this was a bad idea. But the look on their faces... he couldn't. He just couldn't. Instead, he swallowed his doubts and fears and gave a shaky thumbs up -or at least the penguin equivalent to it- to Skipper.

"We're in." The leader grinned. Soon enough, the lemurs and Marlene were in, too. Private swallowed down his fears and followed his team home, where they would keep Nebilim until tomorrow. _**After all, what's the worse thing that could happen?**_ Private wondered. Just then, an eerie sound echoed through the HQ. Not just a sound, a cold, dark voice. It whispered in his ear, getting louder as he drew closer to Rico, who carried the ancient weapon.

_Join us..._

He was already regretting agreeing to this.

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**Hello there! Alright, some things I wanna point out.**

**For those who have played ToS, you'll have noticed that I changed a few things. This is because A) I can't remember every detail of a side-quest I've only played twice and B) It fits better with this universe. The math just fits, don't ask me how.**

**For those who haven't played ToS... WHAT? You've never played ToS? Well, you need to, as it's the best video game since Legend of Zelda went 3D! By the way, ToS stands for Tales of Symphonia, in case you didn't know. Also, you don't need to know a thing about it to follow this story, as I'll fill you in on the necessary stuff. And this is just a recommendation and my opinion. **

**By the way, Phobos is the Greek spirit of fear and Phrike is the Greek spirit of horror. True story, you can look it up. I have no idea if the individual swords have names, so I just made them up using a little bit of research. **


	2. Evil Eye

**Disclaimer: PoM and ToS do not belong to me.**

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"_A cursed weapon. Kills the weak with one glance."_

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When Marlene awoke the next morning, she was smiling, her mood good. She had just had a dream about what would happen should they find the rest of the Devil's Arms. Marlene had used their power to make her home a castle, complete with her friends by her side, helping her use the weapons to bring peace to the world. Private was the only one who hadn't looked happy; he had seemed on edge, glancing at the weapons as though they were pointed at him. But now that she was awake, she forgot that detail and aimed to make her dream a reality.

Joining the others in the Baboons' habitat, Marlene made herself comfortable next to Julian. There they waited, until the baboon entered, smiling kindly. "Greetings, those who accept," She turned to the tree, and posted a map of the city on it. "Now, I know that all the Devil's Arms are somewhere within this city. The closest one is the Evil Eye. It's sealed somewhere within the zoo. All you have to do, is look for it."

Marlene raised an eyebrow. "How can you know that?"

The baboon turned to her, "I have my sources. Magic isn't so easy, but once you know what you're doing, you can find almost anything."

"So how come we have to do the dirty work?" Skipper asked skeptically.

For a moment, her smile faded. "I said ALMOST anything. I can't penetrate the magic on the weapons. They're stronger than any protection on the Earth... even your bases defenses." The otter rolled her eyes, clearly not as shocked as the penguins. Their 'defenses' weren't so great; she got in there on her own almost every day.

"Anyway, you eight go look for it. I'll distract Darla; we can't have her finding out." Marlene and Skipper exchanged a glance, while Maurice asked why. The baboon sighed. "If she finds out, she'll stop the whole expedition. She doesn't know anything about the Devil's Arms, and therefore believes they're too dangerous to handle. But I've spent my whole life researching these things, and I know everything there is to know about them. So get going!" With that, she jumped up into the tree, leaving just as suddenly as she had came.

Now that the Baboon was gone, Skipper took control. Not surprising, Marlene decided. "Alright, we're going to split up! Teams of two; Marlene and Julian; Maurice and Mort; Rico and Kowalski; and myself and Private. MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!" The four teams took off. Marlene and Julian strayed towards the Lemur habitat.

"So," Marlene asked, just to break the silence, "What would you do with the power if we get it?" She could already hear his response, but hated the silence surrounding them.

As she predicted, Julian responded, "Why, use it to expand my kingdom, of course! It's what any good king would do." Wow, so close. Two words off this time. Did Marlene know her friends or what?

The two entered the habitat of the lemurs. It was made up of a dais in the center with a hut and plenty of room on the ground for a moonbounce and more. The king's throne sat at the top of the dais, along with a smoothie bar usually operated by Maurice. Julian sat on his throne, sighing in relief. "All that searching was making me tired. I think it's time for a break."

Marlene glared at him. "We haven't even started yet."

"AH! Must I do everything?" He snapped at her. Marlene sighed; why was she paired up with Julian, of all people? That was disaster waiting to happen.

So, the search began. Marlene climbed around the habitat, looking for anything out of the ordinary... besides the lazy lemur. Who, meanwhile, was lounging on a nearby chair, occasionally criticizing her work. Just when the otter thought she was on the brink of throwing him off the dais, she noticed something.

"Hey Julian?"

The lemur jumped down, standing next to her. "Yes?"

"Was this strange symbol thingy always here?" Standing back, one could see that engraved on the side of the dais was an odd symbol. A circle with twelve little circles surrounding it. They both cocked their heads to the side, trying to determine what it meant and/or was. Eventually, Marlene began to run her paw on the smooth surface of the inner stone. Once she determined it wasn't some kind of trap, she put her head to it and tapped, nodding when she heard the echo that meant it was hollow.

"I think we've found it," She told the delusional king, who grinned ear to ear in excitement. "Not sure how to open it, though. Think the smaller circles have something to do with it?" They stood back, examining the rune on the side of the dais.

Running solely on curiosity, Marlene felt one of the smaller circles, surprised to notice it bulged a little. As did the next one. And the next. And all of them, really. The otter tried to find if they moved in someway, but ultimately failed in that aspect. She growled.

"There has gotta be a way to open this!" She mused. Julian looked at it, clearly irritated by the puzzle at hand.

"Eh, we should get the smart penguin to do it. Or-or maybe the explody one! Ah yes, good times," He sighed in nostalgia, though for what reason Marlene couldn't say. Ignoring that, she shook her head.

"We can't give up! We're so close; I can feel it!"

Pressing down on the stone bulges didn't accomplish anything. Frustrated, Marlene started trying to pound them in with her fists. Which also didn't get anything done. Taking deep breaths, she reached to grab one to steady herself, and it turned within her grasp. She blinked.

"They're knobs?" She asked. Tired, she began turning this one, until she heard the faintest of clicks. The stone knob stayed in place. As Marlene repeated the process for the next stone. And the next one. And all of them, really.

Once done, a harsh grinding, like a mechanism in motion, started. The lemur and otter were pushed to the ground in what felt like a small earthquake. Getting to her feet, Marlene looked to the ruin, smiling when she found it wide open. Ignoring Julian's 'request' for her to help him up, she ran as fast as she could towards the hole. And peered inside.

The weapon was green, looking more like the fibers of a once living being than any metal Marlene had ever seen. The item was round, like a discus, and came in a pair like Nebilim. It wasn't perfectly round, though. Coming off of it were spikes, made of some sharp looking purple material that Marlene thought made it look like it had claws. That fit, actually. But these things weren't what was creepy about the weapon. In the center of it was a massive eye, with spikes surrounding and protecting it. The eyeball was red, and seemed to stare at your soul.

Marlene couldn't look at it too long. It made her feel scared.

Four penguins flipped into the habitat, while the other two lemurs just walked in. Skipper grinned at the two of them. "Great, you found the Evil Eye!"

"Well, I know where it gets it's name from." Marlene mumbled, showing the others the weapon. "Don't look directly into the eye," She warned. Mort stared straight into the eye of the weapon... and passed out.

Maurice examined him. "He's fine."

"Skippah, do you think these things are dangerous?" Private asked. Marlene noticed his expression, grave and scared...

It matched the one he had in her dream

The lead penguin grinned cockily at the youngest of the four. "Of course I do! If I didn't, we wouldn't be on this quest! Now let's go take this to the Baboon lady." The eight walked out, each talking about the Devil's Arms.

Marlene noticed the only one who didn't say anything was Private.

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**Okay, a few notes:**

**Each character gets a chapter centric to them. Marlene went first, because I have trouble writing about her. Sorry; we just don't connect. Skipper and Private get two chapters (Private's already had one)**

**Now for those of you who are ToS fans, feel free to leave ideas. Because I've only got two down for sure; this chapter and Private's.**

**The note at the beginning of the chapter is the weapon's description. Comes with the game; I did not make that up.**

**Now, excuse me while I go wake up my friend who's sleeping over.**


	3. Soul Eater

**Disclaimer: PoM and ToS do not belong to me.**

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"_A sword known to devour the souls of it's victims."_

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Skipper wasn't the type of penguin to worry. No, he was the type to laugh off sensible suggestions, only to fall back on them later. The type to act extremely paranoid at the best of times. The type that slaps his teammates when they become to worried; help them keep a clear head. Very rarely does he become that penguin that needs slapped.

Still, a tight tugging at his stomach told him something was really wrong as he stared at his friend and teammate. Private had been acting strange since this whole thing started. The boy had been paranoid, constantly asking if Skipper thought this was a good idea. Mostly he had been quiet, glancing at the weapons as though they'd jump up and attack him. This kind of behavior was anything but normal for Private, so he believed his worry was fully justified.

Currently, the two penguins were wandering around the park. The Baboon had explained to them the location of the next Devil's Arm. Much to everyone's -including her's- confusion, the Devil's Arm was moving around the park, and we had been sent to find it. Her only conclusion was that someone else had taken it, so they had to be careful. Anyone possessing the Devil's Arms could be extremely dangerous to the group.

So finding it was a top priority. Skipper glanced to Private, who eyed the surroundings as though he was expecting some sort of attack. "Um, Private... I don't think anythings gonna jump out of that bush."

Private jumped. "Oh... right. Sorry, Skippah."

"It's not a problem." The leader replied smoothly, happy to see Private smile softly at this comment. It looked like he was going back to normal.

"AAHHH!"

The two spun around as something jumped out of the bush, knocking the Private over. Skipper ran over and pulled it off, though even afterwords Private continued to scream from the sheer shock. He slapped the boy once, knocking some sense into his head. The boy blinked, looking up. "Oh, sorry sir. I don't know what came over me." If he hadn't been talking to Skipper, that would've been bought. But he was. And Skipper knew him well enough to know when he was lying.

Skipper arched an eyebrow, about to ask what really happened, when he was cut off by the thing that knocked Private over. "PENGUINS! YA GOTTA HELP ME!"

"Moon Cat!" Skipper greeted, completely forgetting about the distraught Private. "Well, of course we can. What's wrong this time? Officer X still on your tail? Or maybe the neighborhood predator after you? Just tell us what's wrong!"

"B-big..."

Skipper's eyebrow arched. "I'm sorry, what...?" The ground beneath them started shaking. Max gasped in terror.

"BIG WORM!" Max shouted. With that he ran off again, hiding behind a nearby tree. Skipper took basic combat position, but was more afraid for Private. The boy had been off already, so there was no telling what how he would react to a situation like this. His eyes drifted to his left, where Private stood in basic position. Though his face reverted to the same expression it always had when he fought something -or someone- Skipper could see something was different with this time.

The two glared at the giant creature. It was a worm, as Max said. Well, actually, that's all it could be described as. It was a giant, gray creature with no visible eyes. The creatures underbelly was lighter than the rest of it's body, and random blue spots covered the sides. The front was made up a giant hole that made up the thing's mouth. Along the mouth were multiple fangs. Spikes came out from the creature's back, and along the underbelly were multiple feelers.

A quick glance to the side to reveal Private shaking in fear, and Skipper took off. He jumped, landing in front of the worm. It growled at him, something he didn't know worms could do. Jumping up, Skipper tried kick the creature in the head just beyond the mouth, but the skin was too tough. He jumped back before it could consume him, and charged at them. The two penguins dodged to either side, and Skipper heard Private scream.

His heart pounded. With sudden speed and agility, he leaped over the giant worm, using it's back as a springboard. When he landed on the other side, Skipper spotted Private on his stomach, getting up slowly. The worm turned, and Skipper didn't waste a moment. He pulled the Private into the bushes, away from the worm.

"What is wrong with you, soldier?" The leader asked. Private swallowed, before shaking his head.

"It's fine, sir. Just... a head cold." He didn't entirely believe that story either, but really had no choice when a sweep of the worm's tail forced them out of their hiding spot. Private landed close to the end of the thing's tail. Skipper... wasn't so lucky. He landed exactly in front of the demonic bug, looking up to see the giant worm towering above him. A stream of wind came from it's mouth, and Skipper found the traction too much.

He held onto the ground, but it was a vain attempt. The wind sucked him into the mouth of the strange creature. He heard Private, calling out to him, but couldn't make out the words over the screaming turbulence. The light disappeared. Everything became dark. And he landed in a wet puddle.

_**In the belly of the beast...**_ Skipper growled to himself. He could here Private fighting the thing on the other side of the skin, but barely. The boy had little chance; the skin was so thick, they couldn't get through it without swords. Looking to the side, he found something sticking out of the stomach. Something that had pierced through it. Well, it was the only weapon he had, right?

Grabbing it, Skipper pulled. He could here the monstrous cries of pain, but ignored them and focused on the task at hand. The weapon jiggled as he slowly pulled it out. He couldn't pull it out fast; it was stuck in the slimy wet flesh. When it was all the way out, he heard a scream of immense pain; but from the wrong source. Eyes widened, he swung the weapon at the fragile flesh walls, each blow causing another shout of pain from the creature he was inside of.

After being knocked off balance, Skipper concluded the thing was dead, and proceeded to slash his way out of the worm's belly, through it's thick skin, and out to the forests outside the worm. His first thought was that he must reek of worm guts. His second was '_**What had happened to Private?**_'.

Skipper found Private moments later, on the other side of the worm. Other than a nasty gash in his side, he didn't look too hurt. But he was too worried about the gash to think about anything else. Approaching his comrade slowly, as not to scare him, he called out, "Private, you okay?"

The startled penguin jumped, looking to his leader, then smiling sheepishly. "I see you've found a Devil's Arm."

Skipper stared, confused, until he looked down and realized he was holding not just a weapon, but a sword. The blade was a light gray metal, with some sort of stone line going down the middle. In the lower center was a blue-green orb that radiated an eerie light. The hilt seemed to be made of the body of some creature, with wings and no feet. It gave off the same spooky vibe the others did. No doubts about it; this was a Devil's Arm.

"Oh, so that's what this is. At least now we know why it was moving around." Skipper approached Private, meaning to inspect his wound, and was surprised when Private backed away. Putting the weapon down, he put up his wings in a surrender gesture. "It's alright; I'm not gonna hurt you." This time the Private allowed Skipper near. The wound wasn't nearly as bad as it looked.

"C'mon, we better get that taken care of." Skipper held Private's wing, leading him towards the zoo. He stopped only to pick up the Devil's Arm, frowning when he felt the other penguin flinch. Now Skipper KNEW there was something Private wasn't telling him. But prying wasn't an option right now; the boy was wounded and jumpy. In this state, asking questions could only cause more harm.

Skipper wasn't the type of penguin to worry. He laughed at phobias, and never hesitated to stare an enemy down. He faced danger on a daily basis, knowing when things were out of hand and still giving his team that encouraging smile. He He only worried if there was something worth worrying about.

And, as he stared at Private, smiling innocently and fooling everybody, he knew he was right to worry. Because Private didn't hide something unless it was something worth hiding.

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**Okay, now AUTHOR'S NOTES!**

**Private's probably out of character. If you've played the game, you'd know why. If not, I'm not giving away any spoilers. It's against my Code of Honor. Which is three rules; Don't give away spoilers; don't take the last of anything; and don't force your opinion on other people. I LIVE by these rules, and found they're something most people should live by.**

**STILL could use suggestions. Especially on Mort's chapter. I just barely am able to write for Marlene; no way I can write for Mort on my own. Any help? Anybody?**

**Please, if you read it, review it. I'm waiting on you guys!**

**THANK YOU! GOODNIGHT! Or good morning. Whatever works.**


	4. Fafnir

**Disclaimer: PoM and ToS do not belong to me.**

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"_A cursed dagger made from the bone of a wicked dragon."_

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An interesting thing about Julian; he was just as, if not more, stubborn than Skipper. Maurice knew this. Mort understood it too. Marlene realized it, but not to it's full extent. Everyone else was clueless. But when something was interesting enough for King Julian to take an interest in it, he put his all into whatever it is.

Which is why he worked so hard to help the others find the Devil's Arms. He pushed past a nearby bush, looking for the next weapon in the lineup. He was with Maurice and Mort, as Marlene was confined to the Zoo. The penguins went in the other direction. And never, not ever, had Julian worked this hard before.

"Your majesty? Would you mind getting off your furry behind and helping us push this stone!" Maurice snapped at his leader. Julian, who was sipping a smoothy nearby where the three were working, looked up briefly from his drink and scratched his chin.

Finally, he responded, "No, you are doing alright on your own." Maurice growled, but continued pushing the boulder. The king lemur gave a smile towards his companions. They really were more like a family then they realized; maybe he should start treating them like it. Then again, if he did that, who would do all his stuff for him?

Something caught the king lemur's eye in the nearby bush, but it vanished in a second. Curiosity overwhelming him for a moment, Julian left his servants to push the heavy boulder, while searching for whatever it was that got his attention. Eventually, after a few minutes -Or if you were to ask Julian, a few hours- he pushed his way through a bush. And gasped.

There it was, in the middle of the forest. A red dagger was laying right there, in the sun, for anyone to see. The dagger was shaped like a bone, with the center part occupied by a green ball. Separating the blade and the handle was a strange ornament that looked like three human finger bones. And the entire thing seemed to shake.

Julian stared at the marvel, a strange feeling overwhelming him. It was as the others described finding a Devil's Arm to be like. Anxiety, fear, and every emotion in between came into play as he approached the dagger. But as he reached down to pick it up...

"Stop right there!" An accented voice called out, making the lemur king stop dead in his tracks. He turned to the direction of the voice, to find a squirrel who popped out of the brush, jumping upwards and landing on one foot, one knee, and his fist. He looked up from the ground. "That dagger belongs to ME, and me alone. Do not try to touch it!"

The lemur gasped with outrage. "NO. You did NOT just go there, my furry friend. That dagger hereby belongs to da KING! Which is me, by the way. Now, if you don't mind handing it over..."

The squirrel snarled. "You'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands!"

Placing a finger on his lips, Julian went into thought. "You know, that is a bit extreme. I mean, it's a sword-"

"The correct term is 'dagger'."

"Right. Dagger. And dagger's can be replaced." Julian inched his way towards the weapon as he spoke. When he arrived next to it, he outstretched his had towards it, slowly. "So, how about we let bygones be bygones and you give me the dagger?" Mere centimeters away from the blade, Julian's hand was smacked away by the squirrel.

"Enough of this!" The squirrel spat. "I will take my dagger, and you will leave." After finishing this statement, he attempted a roundhouse to Julian's head. The lemur ducked, just barely dodging it, grabbed the dagger, and ran for dear life. The squirrel was in hot pursuit.

Julian gripped the dagger tight to his small body, afraid of letting it drop. It was more instinct than anything that kept his fist from loosening it's grip, allowing the small blade to fall to the ground. He made the mistake of looking around, and found the squirrel hot on his heels. Hoping he didn't hear Julian gulp, the king ran as fast as he could ahead, hoping to lose his pursuer.

Now, as we all know, Julian is not the most athletically inclined of the gang of zoosters. Okay, you remember that, right? Good.

The lemur king felt something snag on his ankle, but didn't process it until he landed face-first in the mud. The dagger went soaring high into the sky, flipping and reaching the peak of it's ascent quickly. While he was watching this, he didn't notice another presence next to him in the mud. Apparently, the squirrel was just as bright as Julian. They watched the dagger fall, until it landed on the ground nearby, dagger first into the earth.

The two looked at each other, then at the dagger. They repeated this motion for a while before both sprang up, running for the Devil's Arm. If the squirrel even knew what it was. The squirrel pulled ahead of Julian, and for a moment he was afraid of losing. Then, an idea popped into his head. A crazy one, but it just might work.

Taking off his crown, Julian tossed it up into the branches. The crown, heavier than it looked, broke several branches on it's descent. It landed on the ground in front of the squirrel, who stopped. A moment later, he was covered in debris, leaving Julian to speed past. He picked up his crown on the way, making sure to give his opponent a wink for good measure. The squirrel growled.

He swept the dagger up as he passed, doing a one-eighty spin and stopping. "HA! Who is da master? ME! I'm da master! Better luck next time, Squirrel-face." And with that, Julian ran off. He traveled a few meters before someone called his name, getting his attention and causing him to crash into a tree. He dropped the dagger.

"Oh, you found another Devil's Arm..."

"Good job, Ring-Tail!"

"Excellent work, your majesty!"

"Congratulations!"

"HAHA!"

"Hooray for the king!"

"Yes I did; Thank you; Of course it was; Thank you; Ha-ha back; and OFF DA FEET!" Julian addressed Private, Skipper, Maurice, Kowalski, Rico, and Mort separately.

Skipper looked at it, puzzled. "But how exactly DID you find it?"

So Julian explained about his encounter with the squirrel. From the talk, to the chase, to the race. When he finished, he expected praise coming his way. Instead...

"Yeah, SURE Ring-Tail. And maybe the Sugar Plum Princess will come by personally to give us the next Devil's Arm." The king pouted.

"It's TRUE I swear!"

Kowalski butted in. "It's not nice to swear. We have a child in the vicinity." He gestured to Private, who was staring at his feet. Julian shrugged.

"Um, Skippah?" Private spoke. "Can we go back now? It's getting dark..."

"Good idea, soldier. C'mon, men. We'll continue this tomorrow." Skipper lead the penguins and lemur back to the habitat. Rico carried the weapons, Kowalski examined a list, probably drawn up by the Baboon, and Maurice and Mort were conversing about something he didn't care about. The only one silent and/or indifferent was Private. He walked behind the group, keeping a fair distance from Rico.

Julian pondered this for a moment, then shrugged. If something was up with the little penguin, than it wasn't his place to interfere. Besides, if something was wrong the other penguins would be acting on it, and they weren't. Therefore, he must be fine.

* * *

**Oh, Julian, if only you knew.**

**Okay, a couple notes: Sorry for taking so long. I finished Tales of Symphonia for the fourth time, and now I have to play-through it again to get the Devil's Arms for the descriptions. That, on top of Writer's Block and stress about school starting, has prevented me from writing.**

**I really believe Julian is more observant and clever than most give him credit for. But not THAT much. I hope I got him right. I like to think I know the main characters well, besides Mort. More to come eventually.**

**In the meanwhile, please enjoy your in-flight meal. Don't like it? Toss it!**


	5. Diablos

**Disclaimer: PoM and ToS do not belong to me.**

* * *

"_Chaos can be heard pulsing within this weapon."_

* * *

Private was not feeling well.

In addition to the splitting headache, which had only increased since their quest begun, he was now hearing voices. Stranger still, said voices seemed to be coming from the very weapons they had been collecting. They repeated the same things over and over again.

_Join us..._

_We are one with you..._

_Embrace our dark power..._

Phrases like these had been on repeat in his head ever since they were given Nebilim. He was starting to believe himself insane, especially when the others showed no signs of being able to hear the weapons. Maybe it was those dark powers the Baboon mentioned overwhelming them. Yeah, that had to be it. Because otherwise...

Well, he wouldn't think about that.

He glanced nervously to Rico, who carried the weapons. He had been pretty subtle about staying away from the maniac penguins. He would make it up to Rico later; right now, he was too scared about what would happen otherwise. His masquerade seemed to fool almost everyone, the exception being...

"Private!"

The young bird turned to flash a smile at his leader, the only one who seemed unconvinced. "Yes, sir?"

"You're distracted." Skipper frowned dejectedly. "Tell me what's wrong." Yet another opportunity to get them to stop collecting the Devil's Arms. But he wasn't going to take it. He could imagine the disappointed faces of his friends and comrades now. He didn't want to be a burden on them.

So, he put on his best smile and shook his head. "Nothing's wrong, sir. Just a headache." Skipper frowned. He knew the Skipper could see through his lies. He had always been able to, from day one. Although sweet, sometimes it was hard to be around a person like that. Now was one of those rare times.

"Alright..." Skipper responded, not prying. For that, Private was grateful for. They were interrupted by a cry from Kowalski. Skipper acted quickly, jumping in front of the penguin. "What is it, man?"

"A Devil's Arm is nearby!" He squealed. Private's hopes shot up for a moment. Maybe he wasn't the only one... "See? Nebilim's key is reacting to the other Arms." Scratch that.

Skipper put his wing to his beak in thought. "Hmm... intriguing. You know the routine! Split up!" Everyone separated as they had earlier. Private walked alongside Skipper. Don't get me wrong, he did look up to his leader. He just didn't want anyone to see him as a burden. They traveled across the park together.

Suddenly, Private's head began pounding. Though the weapons were with Rico, and thus nowhere near, he could hear a new voice whispering in his ear. They were close. Private put his wings to his temples, trying to rub the pain away. It didn't work.

"Private? You all right?" Oh yeah, he'd almost forgotten about Skipper. Putting on another fake grin, he nodded and headed in the direction that made his head pound worse. That was where the weapon was.

He knew Skipper was following him; he hadn't responded to his question. Odds are he'd get yelled at, maybe even punished, for insubordination. But right now, his attention was focused on the Devil's Arm he knew was just up ahead.

Arriving at a clearing, Private stopped. The pounding... was almost unbearable now. Either it or Rico was close, he was sure of it. The youngest of the penguins took a good look around, noticing Skipper catch up to him. "What are we looking at?"

"I don't know." Private confessed. Silence.

All of a sudden, the pounding of his head increased. A pain spread through his entire body. It took all his willpower not to scream out or fall to the ground. Even then, he knew he was shaking. Skipper noticed, too. "Private? You okay?"

The boy looked up seeing something caught in the branches of the tree. The Devil's Arm. It spoke to him, like the others had.

_You are one with the darkness...join us..._

"There it is!" He cried, trying not to focus on it's words. Skipper looked up and noticed it, too. He put both wings to the ground, one over the other, and launched Private high enough into the air to break the branch holding it. It fell to the ground, and the two ran over. Skipper was the one to pick it up.

It was an ax. A purple one, at that. But it was the spookiest of the arms yet. The handle was short, just barely big enough for one hand to grab it. It seemed to look like a head, with a crack in the blade being it's mouth... which seemed to open and close, as the weapon wasn't hinged properly. Each of the cracks were lined with spikes, making it look even more disturbingly like the head of a monster. When Private held it, he felt something pulse inside of it.

It scared him. Some different kind of force acted within this weapon. Not just darkness... chaos. Some kind of chaos pounded within the weapon, within his head. And he couldn't get it to stop. Quickly, he handed the weapon to Skipper, who marveled at the chaos instead of being creeped out by it.

"Whoa... this is one strange weapon. Don't you think so?" Skipper asked. Private nodded.

"Yeah... strange..." Skipper stared at him funny, but the soldier was saved from answering anymore questions by a shout.

"You found it!" The two looked as the other penguins and the lemurs approached. "I cannot wait to be using it's power to expand my kingdom!" He shouted, embracing the weapon.

"Weirdo." Skipper muttered. From behind, another being emerged. The baboon. "What are you doing here? I thought these things made you sick."

"I'm feeling a bit better." The baboon replied. "But I forgot to tell ya'll something. A part of the legend I overlooked." Everyone raised their eyes, curious. Private did too. "Every hundred or so years, the Devil's Arms choose a new lord of darkness to take over for Nebilim. There are signs. Headaches, pain when you're near the weapons, but most importantly... hearing the voices of the weapons. Have any of you been suffering anything like that?" All of them shook their heads, including Private. He gulped.

"Well, I'm heading back. You should to. The next arm is unpinpointable. I believe it's in the possession of someone. Until we figure it out, you should get some rest. After all, it's been a long day." She stared past them, to Private, though none of the others seemed to notice. Then, she turned around, and left.

Skipper snorted. "How strange. Well, at least none of us hear the voices," He turned to Private. "Right, soldier?"

"Affirmative, sir."

Nearby, Rico collected the Devil's Arm Diablos, putting it with the others. Private looked down to the ground. Thoughts spun around in his head. He tried to digest the information given to him by the female baboon who set them on this task.

No.

It couldn't be. He couldn't be the next lord of darkness. He didn't want to be. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. But as the weapons whispered in his ears...

_Give into our power..._

...It was pretty hard not to admit something was wrong.

* * *

**...Poor Private...**

**NOTE: Diablos, Fafnir, and a few of the other weapons were found in treasure chests. So, I have to be a little creative with those ones.**

**Next Chapter is Kowalski's. I'll see you all then. Bye!**


	6. Disaster

**Disclaimer: PoM and ToS do not belong to me.**

* * *

"_A cursed weapon that's evil to the core. Use with caution."_

* * *

Logically, it would be foolish to assume the reason they were on this quest was for the reason they were told. If it were simply dying she was afraid of, she would be more panicked than she was now. Clearly there is an ulterior motive to having them locate these Devil's Arms.

Kowalski liked to think he was an excellent judge of character. From merely one glance, he would be able to tell the good guys from the bad. Something about the baboon set him on full-alert. The others didn't seem to be worried, though. Or maybe they were too worried about other things. So Kowalski took it upon himself to realize the true motives of the baboon under which they were employed.

That day was an excellent opportunity. While searching, magically, for the being that possessed the next of the Devil's Arms they had to collect, she allowed the eight of them to do as they wished. Private, for some strange reason, had climbed into his bunk and refused to come out. Skipper and Rico were trying to coax Private out. The lemurs and Marlene spent the time doing... whatever they do. That didn't matter. The penguin lieutenant was on a mission!

From his perch above the ground, in the trees, he observed the baboon habitat. Darla and her ladies were working on some form of incantation. Kowalski didn't find that relevant, so he paid closer attention to their employer. She was at the top of a nearby tree, seemingly scanning the park.

Suddenly, her attention shifted. She stared back at him, and disappeared from sight. Kowalski took one moment to take this in, and another to absorb the fact that she rematerialized right next to him. He jumped upon coming to that revelation.

"So, you've come to help me get the next Devil's Arm, huh?" She asked. Kowalski subconsciously shivered. Something definitely wasn't right. "What about the others?"

He desperately thought, finally coming up with an excuse. "Er... Private's sick. Yeah, he can't leave his bed. Skipper and Rico have been with him all morning." Well, it wasn't a complete lie. He just added an illness and hid Private's strange hysteria. That's not technically lying. That's rearranging facts for your purposes. Totally acceptable, right?

She shrugged. "Alright, sugah. Whatever floats their boats, I guess." She turned, beckoning him to follow. "Come. I'll show you where the next one is." Rather reluctantly, Kowalski followed behind her.

He followed her up the tree. While the Baboon was able to climb with ease, Kowalski had to utilize his special operations training to keep up with her, flipping and jumping though the twisted branches of the tree.

At the top, they were now overlooking the whole of Central Park. Kowalski's eyes widened in awe. He'd never seen Central Park from this angle before. It was... beautiful. Maybe this was why Private climbed to high places when he wanted to be alone.

Next to him, the female baboon smiled. Not evilly, with just kindness. But still, Kowalski had to repress a shiver. He still believed something was wrong with this lady.

She pointed out a spot in the center of the park. "There. The weapon is being held by a living being. Do you think you can retrieve it?" She looked to the penguin, who nodded. "Good. But you must hurry. Time is running short. The weapons have chosen a new Lord of Darkness to replace Nebilim." For a brief moment, Kowalski wondered who that was. Then she turned to leave. "Find Disaster and bring it back."

And in a split second, she was gone.

Kowalski stood in shock for a moment before looking back towards the park. He jumped down from the tree and began moving to the center of the park. From the ground, he could find his way around pretty well. He arrived at his destination before realizing exactly where it was.

Fred's Tree.

"Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me!" Kowalski shouted in frustration. The stupid squirrel, better known as Fred, poked his head out of the tree.

"Hey," He said coolly. Kowalski sighed.

"Hello," He responded, kind of regretting not bringing someone else with him. Fred could be annoying at the best of times. "Listen, Fred, I'm looking for Disaster. It's-" Realization hit. She hadn't even told him what Disaster looked like. "Well, I know it's a weapon."

He was met with a blank stare. "Alright, listen Fred, and listen carefully. Have you found any, uh, evil weapons around?"

"How can a weapon be evil?" Fred asked.

Kowalski rolled his eyes. "It's a demon weapon."

"But that doesn't make sense. A weapon's not alive. So how can it be evil or demonic? Wait," Fred bit his lip. "Aren't evil and demonic the same thing?"

"No, there is a distinct-" Kowalski stopped himself. They were getting off subject. "That's not the point. Any sign of Disaster?"

"Hmm..." Fred muttered as he thought. Kowalski sat down and started doing calculations for his latest invention. This could take a while.

Three minutes (or hours, Kowalski didn't keep track) later, Fred cried out, "Oh, wait!". Kowalski looked up at him. "I did pick up this weird looking thingy. To be honest, it's more like a toy than a weapon, though."

"May I see it?" Kowalski asked quickly. Moments later, Fred scurried down the tree, carrying something, and handed that something over to Kowalski, who inspected it thoroughly.

The thing reminded Kowalski of a claw. The handle of it was green, with dark purple spots in a pattern down it. The bottom had three bony rungs hanging off of it. On top, the handle spread out into three separate claws, each with a sharp talon at the end, holding a black, spiked ball in place. The ball seemed to pulsate with a strange red energy, and what that was Kowalski didn't want to know. At least, not at the moment.

"Thanks Fred," He turned to the squirrel. "I hope you don't mind, but I'll be taking this."

Fred waved him off. "Keep it. Ever since I found that thing, I've been in three accidents; two almost killing me, and one burning my tail near off." He turned around, showing Kowalski his burnt tail. "Just don't come crying to me if that thing gets you killed."

"No problem," And with that, the penguin departed. Staring at the Devil's Arm. What the others described when they found the others was exactly what he was feeling. The Arm gave off an evil aura, something so clear Kowalski was surprised Fred didn't sense it. Then again, it WAS Fred... but still, it was terrifying. He could feel the power pulsating inside of it. Dangerous, just waiting to be unleashed.

When he returned to the Zoo, the others were waiting for him. Apparently Skipper and Rico had succeeded in forcing Private out of bed. Though the young penguin still seemed troubled, he wasn't acting stranger than normal, trying to converse with the others.

Then he saw Kowalski.

At first, he ran up to him, with a big grin, but froze at the sight of the Devil's Arm in his grasp. Kowalski didn't have the time to be confused; the others ran up to him, talking to him about his find. They didn't seem surprised that Fred had it. In fact, they actually chuckled when Kowalski told them his story.

"Leave it to Fred," Skipper laughed. The only one who didn't join in their merriment was Private. He seemed... distant, almost. As though he wasn't fully there. Kowalski wasn't surprised that he was the only one who noticed. Being a scientist has made him observant, and Private, being the down-to-earth one, was naturally that way. The others weren't as aware as the two of them, something Kowalski felt gave him a connection to the younger penguin.

He poked Private. "Hey, you okay?" At first the boy jumped, then smiled. It was that same, kind smile he gave everyone.

"Oh, I'm alright. Just thinking about what will happen when find the other arms." He then stared out again, distantly.

Kowalski had always been observant, but now, he knew, he wasn't like Private. He couldn't read people like he could a map or reading. This strange, unreadable penguin in front of him was the proof of that.

* * *

**Okay, the ending notes:**

**I would like to thank everyone who followed this story despite my writer's block related procrastination. You guys rock!**

**And for those of you who have never played Tales of Symphonia (probably most of you), I'm making a subtle relation between certain characters in the game and in PoM based on the weapon their chapter is centered around.**

**Now, I have to finish several other story chapters before I post... better find some good music.**


	7. Gates of Hell

**Disclaimer: PoM and ToS do not belong to me.**

* * *

"_A cursed card with a picture of a feather from an evil black bird."_

* * *

Being in New York's Central Park Zoo, under the rule of King Julian, had taught Maurice to expect the unexpected. In the same place as those psychotic penguins, things never seemed to go according to plan. Of course, he couldn't blame everything on the penguins. The lemurs and even Marlene had caused their fair share of messes. In the end, though, everything always went back to normal.

And now, they were stuck on another crazy adventure, only this time, the reason behind it was not that Kowalski's newest experiment had gotten loose, or King Julian dabbled in something he shouldn't have, or anything of that sort. They were recruited by an odd monkey who worked with Darla to find these strange, almost evil artifacts known as Devil's Arms.

Despite the fact that he had a bad feeling about these weapons, Maurice tagged along, knowing that if they didn't have someone level-headed, things would get blown out of proportion. Normally that role was filled by Private or Marlene, but Marlene wasn't allowed to leave the zoo and Private... well, he'd been acting strange for a while now.

The loud voice of Julian shouting about finding something jolted him out of his thoughts.

Everyone ran over, and Private sighed, "Julian, that's not a Devil's Arm. It's just a toy sword," Maurice wondered if it was only himself that noticed how relieved the youngest of the penguins had seemed.

"How do YOU know?" The mammal retorted. Private grasped the sword in his flippers, turning it over carefully.

"Well, for starters," He began, "It's made of plastic. There's also a logo that says, 'Made in China' at the hilt of the weapon."

Julian scoffed, "Whatever," Everyone rolled their eyes at the 'King'. Walking away from the scene, Maurice saw a look of subtle anxiety on the Private's face.

"Hey, you alright?" He whispered. No need to get the others involved in this. They either wouldn't understand, or get caught up in his business. Private blinked at him, as if just noticing him for the first time. It wouldn't have surprised him if that were true.

"I'm fine," Private lied, "It's just... I feel kinda anxious. That may not have been the real Devil's Arm, but I think the next one is close. Plus, I've got a headache," He smiled at the lemur, though it seemed almost fake, "I'll be fine, really."

Maurice wasn't quite so sure about that. He seemed troubled, and his eyes were darkened, like they always were when he was hiding something. Maurice may not know much, but he did know that whatever it was he's hiding was scaring Private if he wouldn't just come out and say it. But the question was, what was he so afraid of?

Their conversation wasn't going anywhere, so Maurice didn't pursue the subject further. Instead, he ran ahead and caught up with the others. Occasionally, he would glance to the others. The only one who seemed concerned for Private was Skipper, who would send worried looks back to the rear of the party, where Private was walking. The others were either too busy looking for the arms, or talking to each other to notice.

Finally, they made it to the center of the park, where they did their customary splitting up. It was always the same. Skipper would go with Private, Kowalski with Rico, and the lemurs would be stuck together. Unless Marlene was involved, then they sent her with Julian.

"...and so I was like, nuh uh, and she was totally like, uh huh, and..." Maurice found himself to be a pretty good actor, especially when it came to hanging out with Julian. He could pretend to be listening and finding stuff fascinating when in fact he was bored to death and zoning out. In fact, he wasn't even sure Julian knew what he was talking about. The King of Lemurs seemed to talk only to keep things from going quiet.

Rolling his eyes, the sound of leaves rustling a little too hard for it to have been the wind hit his ears. He stopped and, with wide eyes, spun around. The leaves were still again. Nothing was there. He turned back to find Mort and Julian had walked on, not even noticing his absence.

"Great..." The aye-aye muttered. Not only was he alone in Central Park, which he just barely knew his way around, but what just happened had made him jumpy and paranoid.

He moved in the direction he last saw Julian and Mort go in, but was stopped by something fast running in front of him, knocking him backwards. With a quick gasp, he looked around. Suddenly, these woods seemed a lot more eerie then they had mere moments ago. Maurice walked backwards, away from the path, and boldly called out, "Who's there?"

In response, the bushes nearby rustled. Maurice turned to them swiftly, then backed away in the other direction. Something pushed him down to the ground from the other side. Maurice backed up, still on the ground. Two wolf like creature crept through the park flora, growling as they approached the portly lemur. One of them had a pack strapped to him, the other had a blue coat. They both started towards him.

"Heh, now now, let's try to settle this rationally and-" Poor Maurice didn't get the chance to even finish his sentence. The wolves pounced forward, razor sharp fangs glistening with fresh saliva. Maurice just barely dove out of the way of these strange beast, wondering what on Earth he did to make them that upset.

One of them pounced on top of Maurice. The lemur just barely held him back with his bare hands while it tried to bite down at him. Without really thinking, Maurice kicked the thing with all his strength. The result was that the wolf with the bag, the one on top of him, was tossed into a tree. The bag slid open, and a pack of cards fell out. The other wolf attempted to tackle Maurice, but the lemur slipped under him.

Grabbing the pack of cards, Maurice turned to the one trying to kill him. The one he'd kicked into a tree had, luckily, been knocked out. The other one was still trying to catch up to him. Desperately, he pulled two of the cards out, looking at them...

...what the heck was he supposed to do with these?

The second wolf had finally realized where he was and charged at Maurice. In a panic, he did what every creature did. He followed his instincts.

The results were unbelievable. It was like someone had sewn an instruction manual into his head. He knew exactly where to move, when to move there, and how to perform that move. He flipped over the wolf, striking him in three spots. The wolf, stunned, collapsed to the ground, and tried to get up.

It couldn't. Maurice's blows had sealed it's chakra. Breathing heavily, Maurice looked down at the cards that had saved his life. Unlike normal, rectangular cards, they were five-sided, shaped roughly like coffins. Each one was identical, golden with black trimming. At the center of each card was a hand painted picture of a black feather. It wasn't that the cards were particularly scary. It was that some sort of energy within them freaked him out.

Were the cards, perhaps, a Devil's Arm?

"There you are!" King Julian called to his servant, "I was so worried! Don't disappear like that again!"

The others came up to him as well. It seemed Julian had noticed he was missing, and went to the others to start searching for him. Maybe Julian deserved a little more respect than the portly lemur first thought.

Private kept staring at the stack of cards in his grip, "Are those the Devil's Arms? They're different from normal."

Being reminded of the Arms, Maurice quickly told his tale, "It was like, some force within the weapon took me over then. Something strong," He glanced at the cards, remembering that feeling, "Whatever it was, it wasn't just pure instinct."

"Maybe you were on to something when you said these things had a mind of their own," Skipper said, looking at the cards. Maurice wondered who he was addressing, but he had a pretty good idea.

Sure enough, Private spoke up, "I told you, Skippah. These things are dangerous in a way we can't understand."

And suddenly, Maurice saw that same fear he saw earlier. Without thinking he asked, "Do you want us to stop?"

A painful silence followed, ending with Private answering, "No. If you guys are in this, I am, too."

Maurice was used to weird things happening. Evil weapons that took you over, he could manage. Baboon sorceresses tapping into unknown powers, that seemed reasonable compared to some of the stuff he's been through. This adventure, however, was really odd in the eyes of Maurice, servant Aye-Aye of King Julian.

Because this time, the adventure was starting to boar a whole in the hearts of the adventurers.

* * *

**And so, another Devil's Arm is found. Several Notes:**

**The cards are called 'Guardians' within the game of ToS. **

**I would like to apologize to anyone following this story for the recent lateness. My writing muse apparently has left me since school started.**

**No, Maurice is not a good fighter. I'm just reiterating how powerful the Devil's Arms are. They can take over a person when they're forced to fight. Skipper, earlier, had enough training to resist this.**

**Mort's chapter is next... any and all suggestions would be appreciated greatly!**


	8. Apocalypse

**Disclaimer: PoM and ToS do not belong to me.**

* * *

"_A cursed weapon with an evil, dark aura."_

* * *

If there was one thing everyone could depend on, it was Mort's obsessive love of Julian's feet. Even as they continued on what could be the most dangerous quest of their lives, he stared at them in a state of bountiful bliss. He was hypnotized by the three toed feet of the 'King' of the Lemurs. As they walked forward, the fur on them seemed to glisten in the sunlight...

"Mort! Pay attention!" The wide-eyed little lemur looked up at his aye-aye companion, watching Maurice glare at him, unamused and irritated, "Come on, we have to keep up with Julian. If we don't," Here, his expression turned sour, "Who knows what kind of trouble his royal pain will get himself in."

"Okay!" The hyperactive mammal responded, skipping along. Maurice rolled his eyes and walked after him, ignoring the humming the little lemur was doing.

Unfortunately for Mort, Maurice was the only one who ignored it.

"WHAT," King Julian snapped, "Is this hideous melody that is assaulting my eardrums?" He hit the side of his head with his hand, as though that would make the sound go away, "It is irritating me to no end and won't," He hit his head again, "Go," another hit, "Away," Here, he hit himself hard enough to knock himself over. Placing him right in front of Mort.

"Hi!" He shrieked in his high-pitched voice, then resumed humming the somewhat annoying tune.

"Mort," King Julian spoke in a surprisingly soft, sweet tone. The kind he used only when Mort's 'annoying levels', as the king called it, reached skyrocketing levels.

"Yes?" The Dormouse lemur asked, completely oblivious to Julian's annoyance. Maurice, however, recognized the tone, and stepped away from Mort, so the younger lemur wouldn't end up kicked in his face.

"Shut up a little," The king mock-cooed.

Large eyes widened somewhat, and Mort hopped forward, hugging his king's feet, "Okie-dookie," He responded in his normal, high-pitched tone. Julian's eyes, to anyone who was paying attention -in other words, just Maurice- seemed to be glowing a bright red.

He snarled, "OFF. DA. FEET!" His foot shot forward. Mort lost his grip on the ankle of Julian and was flung into the air at a one-forty degree angle. He flew deeper into the park, crying, 'WEE!' and crashed into a tree a ways away.

Maurice stared until Mort was out of view, then turned to his king and asked, "Shouldn't we go after him? The Park is kinda dangerous."

"Do we have to?" Julian whined, but a glare from Maurice guilted him into it, "Ugh, fine, let's go get da penguins."

Meanwhile, Mort crashed into several trees, bouncing off one onto another, crying, "Ow! OW!" until he fell to the ground, "Oof!" lying on his stomach. Then, he got up, brushed himself off, and said, "I'm okay."

Then he looked around.

He wasn't quite sure where he was. Reasonably, as he'd rarely been out of the zoo and even then, usually with the penguins or Maurice. Julian and Marlene didn't count, as one didn't care about him, and the other couldn't leave the zoo because of a few 'monster issues', or so he'd heard.

A branch from above, one he'd crashed into on the way down, broke and fell down upon him. The only thing that seemed to indicate he was a live was the slight twitching in his tail and limbs, which were sprawled out. Something else fell along with the branch. Mort pulled himself out from under the branch and gasped at the sight of what had fallen.

They were two strangely shaped items, identical down to the last detail. A gray sculpted face, with piercing red eyes stared back at the dormouse lemur. Just above it were tan eyebrows, that wrapped around the frame of the strange thing. On the sides of these things were what appeared to be tan feathers, twitching ever so slightly. The bottom of the strange faces had a horizontal row of sharp, tan ornaments that appeared to be teeth. One was stacked on top of the other, a strap keeping them from falling apart.

Now, anyone else would have looked at these things and thought, 'AHH!' Or, if you a part of Skipper's group, you might have shouted, "AHH! A Devil's Arm!" Mort, however, was ignorant and -as most of the team would openly say- stupid. So when he saw the skull faces, his first thought was, 'Ooh, masks!'

And he didn't even think to question why there were two of them, or why they were out in the middle of nowhere.

One mask was placed upon his head. The other was held in a firm grip. Hearing his voice being called out, Mort hid behind a nearby bush.

"Mort! Oh, Mort!" Private called, waddling through the bushes. Mort grinned. Here he comes... just a bit closer...

"AHHH!" The lemur jumped out in front of the youngest penguin. Private screamed in pure terror, falling back. Mort took off the mask and laughed. At the sound of young Private's scream, the others rushed to the scene, only to be shocked at Mort, laughing on his back, and Private, curled up and shaking softly.

While Julian was obviously amused, Maurice quickly scolded the younger lemur, "Mort, that was NOT cool! We're all at the ends of our wits right now!"

"You could have caused a panic attack!" Kowalski snapped at him, "Do you know what would've happened then? He would've been unable to breathe, and probably lose consciousness!"

Rico grunted in disapproval, standing besides Kowalski. Skipper was too busy trying to calm the frantic youngest soldier to chaste him as the others had.

Mort looked down with wide; sad; regretful eyes, feeling bad. He'd just wanted to have a little fun!

Trying to draw everyone's attention away from Mort, Private picked up and examined the masks Mort had found, "Hey, aren't these Devil's Arms?"

"They sure are!" The unusually cheerful voice of their employer came seemingly out of nowhere as she swung into the scene, grabbing the masks, "Give me the rest of the Devil's Arms."

Rico complied, spewing them up. Private started shaking lightly, though only Mort, who was standing right next to him, noticed. The Private backed away from them, slowly, as not to cause suspicion. Mort frowned, but turned his attention back to the Arms.

They all started floating around the baboon, who eyed each one carefully, "Well, no fakes, that's good... they're not damaged too badly..."

"Are we done yet?" Skipper asked, "We've been searching for days! How many more are there?"

"Just one," The baboon smiled, "And that's the Heart of Chaos. My magic can't locate it, though... I fear that, like Disaster, it may be in the possession of someone. Let's hope it's someone that, like Fred, is too stupid or too ignorant to understand the power of the Arms."

"Have no fears, miss. We'll take care of it, right boys?" Everyone nodded.

"Good," The baboon turned her gaze to look at all of them, ending on Private. Mort blinked as the penguin's fearful eyes tried to mask themselves from the baboon lady. But it was too late. She'd already glimpsed inside his soul, and smirked to herself, walking away.

Mort watched them for a few moments, before shrugging. Whatever was going on there, was someone else's problem. He had another, more pressing matter to deal with.

"MORT! OFF DA FEET!"

* * *

**Okay... you know the drill. Notes:**

**The Devil's Arm _Apocalypse _is actually a greave, a type of weapon equipped on the leg, over the boots, to enhance the power of one's feet. The character that uses them doesn't use his hands for a personal reason. Makes his fighting style a little unique compared to the others.**

**Thanks to Pip4 for the help with this chapter. It took a little while to actually write.**

**Hopefully, I can decide on what I'm going to do next. I have a few ideas, and since this stories only two chapters away from the finish, might as well start planning, right?**


	9. Heart of Chaos

**Disclaimer: PoM and ToS do not belong to me.**

* * *

"_A cursed weapon that pulses with evil energy."_

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When all things went wrong, when science failed them -again- and when everything went down to the last card of the game, everyone knew they could depend on Rico. He was the go-to guy; the maverick; the last resort with a plan, and that plan usually involved blowing something up. An artist, a fighter, and a penguin with the 'right stuff', he was often told he had a way with words, a contradiction to his silent, tough guy persona. He was loved and cherished by every member of the team.

Or so he had thought until now.

Private was avoiding him. It had not been obvious, but Rico noticed. The subtle movements away from him; the slight fear shimmering in his eyes. Had he realized how dangerous and crazy the larger penguin was? No, that wasn't it. He knew as well as everyone else how psychotic Rico is. So what had triggered this strange behavior?

Now was his chance to find out. Skipper had paired the two of them together, and Private had been looking to the right, not meeting Rico's eyes at any time. This annoyed the older penguin immensely. Didn't he have a right to know what he was doing wrong? Whatever he was doing wrong, that is.

Rico noticed how distracted Private was and nudged him gently. Unfortunately, he overestimated how much Private was paying attention. The younger penguin gasped and jumped three feet into the air, tripping over a branch and falling on his stomach. Rico blinked. Well... that could have turned out a lot worse.

"Oh... sorry, Rico. I seem to be a bit distracted lately," Private chuckled nervously at the end, looking down and twiddling his flippers together. Rico rolled his eyes and grunted, as if to say, 'That's putting it mildly'.

He simply smiled in that nervous way and apologized again. This made Rico frown. He wasn't completely pushing Rico out anymore -a good thing- but now Rico had been upgraded to the despondent way he'd been dealing with everything lately. Now Rico should be happy Private wasn't made at him, like he originally thought.

He wasn't.

Instead, he was curious, and slightly agitated. He didn't have the right to treat everyone like this! They were his friends... weren't they?

"Hey Rico! Take a look at this!" Ah well, Rico could continue his internal monologue later. Now, he had a mission to accomplish.

Private had shoved some leaves aside to reveal a hidden entrance to the sewer. Normally, Rico would write something like this off. But the lid had been moved recently. It was out of alignment, and if any of them had used it, they would have put it back properly.

"I smell a rat. Or maybe a few rats," The boy told him. Rico nodded. This was a pretty good find. Now all they needed was to get the others here, and-

"Hey, are you coming or not?" Rico turned. Private had lifted the lid up, and was already in the sewer hole. The smell coming from there was, to a normal person, bad, but all the penguins were used to it. They used the sewers for quick convenience around the city. You'd be surprised how far you can get underground, even while avoiding the sewer rats.

At first, Rico was tempted to call out for the others. Facing the rats was a difficult enough challenge as a team, and with Private the way he is now, it would be even tougher. But the concept of finding the last Devil's Arm without the others was too great to pass up.

So, in the end, he climbed in after Private. Landing on the ground, Rico would have wrinkled his nose if he were able to. The stench told him they were closer to the rats; it wasn't this smelly unless they were closed to another living creature, or a certain pipe. After regurgitating a flashlight to help them see, Rico and Private walked in the direction they'd normally walk away from; towards the smell of the rats.

Finding them didn't take long. The rats were just as keen on parties as the lemurs were. It was a simple matter of follow the noise. Of course, they never just faced the rats head on. The two penguins hid behind a corner and poked their heads out. There they were. The rats were dancing and drinking some unintelligible sludge (which made Private woozy and Rico lick his beak) to some heavy metal band. The two exchanged a brief glance, before nodding, and jumping out.

They were noticed almost immediately. Everything stopped. All the rats looked at them. Even the batteries in the radio conveniently died, just so they could be the center of attention. If this wasn't suicide, Rico would have felt flattered.

"Hey!" A rat cried out, "What are you punks doing here?"

Rico growled at it in response. The cowardly little thing jumped and scurried behind a nearby companion, who was, too, shaking in fear. The sight made Rico roll his eyes.

"Enough!" Another deeper, much more familiar voice cried out. Rico grinned. This was what he had been waiting for! The penguins turned to face the Rat King. What they both saw made their eyes go wide.

The king of the rats had a new toy; a scepter of some sort. The top of it seemed like the head of a creature, with piercing red eyes and teeth. On the back of the 'head' of the scepter was a pair of horns -or at least, they looked like horns. Inside it's mouth was a glowing red spear, seemingly pulsating with some unknown power. Much stronger than any dynamite.

Rico gaped at the weapon that could only be a Devil's Arm. Private stared at it and shivered for a moment, though Rico failed to notice. He was too busy wondering how they were going to get it from this nutcase.

The king smirked when he saw them eying his new power rod, "Beautiful, isn't it? I had it hand carved by the finest in India, then-"

"Your followers found that in Central Park, probably not too far from here, and brought it back because it was a weapon worthy of their 'king'," Rico snickered at the response Private gave. But who wouldn't? It was funny!

"How dare you insult me like that! I demand that you-" Rico didn't bother listening to the rest. Flapping his wing, he imitated the king's jibber-jabber, 'Blah blah,' then proceeded to regurgitate a stick of dynamite. The rodents around them screamed and fled, ignoring the calls of their leader. Finally, the king fled too, dropping the scepter behind him. Rico picked it up and swallowed it.

Private was dazed, in some sort of trance. Rico waved his paw in front of the youngest penguin, trying to get his attention. Finally, growing tired of waiting, he hoisted Private over his shoulder and ran for cover. They tumbled out of the sewer entrance and onto the grass of the park just as it exploded.

The others flocked to them at the sound of the explosion. Skipper sternly shouted, "Rico, what did I tell you about unauthorized explosions?"

"Sorry," The penguin grunted, and smiled apologetically. He then regurgitated the last of the Devil's Arms for everyone to see.

"Sweet McArthur's mustard!" Kowalski shouted at the sight of it, "The last one..."

"Well done, boys!" Skipper congratulated. He picked it up, smiling at the relief that this quest was almost over. Behind him, Rico saw something that shocked him. That expression... Private was giving Skipper the same fearful expression he had given to Rico several times over the past few days. He then followed Private's gaze.

No, not Skipper... the weapon Skipper was holding. Rico was startled to see that Private had been afraid of the Devil's Arms the whole time, and not him. A part of him, a huge part, was relieved. A bigger part was worried. When they would join the baboon lady later that day, how would Private be able to hold out? A panic flooded through Rico.

He tried desperately to get Skipper's attention. The leader turned to him, "What is it, boy? Some kid is stuck in a well? Someone's on fire? The government's planning to blow us all up?" Rico shook his head. Skipper suddenly gasped, "It's the Danes, isn't it?" Again, Rico shook his head, this time making an exaggerated sigh, "Well, if it's anything else, it can wait until we get our ultimate power!"

Rico sighed. No use getting through to the others. He just hoped Private would be okay...

* * *

**Well, now that you mention it... nah, I'm not telling you! Wait two weeks and I'll post the final chapter!**

**Ironic that Rico, whom Private had been avoiding like the plague, is the first one to figure out what's wrong... not why, though.**

**Now, what am I gonna write after this? I have a few ideas... not sure which I'll post first, though... **

**And please, please review!**


	10. Empty Soul

**Disclaimer: PoM and ToS do not belong to me.**

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"_A huge void in your heart. It is filled not by darkness, but kindness from others."_

* * *

Anxiety tugged at Skipper's heart as his team and the lemurs approached the meeting point with the baboon. Marlene had to stay at the zoo, for obvious reasons. The others were grinning with excitement at finally unlocking the mystery of the Devil's Arms. Though Skipper also maintained a grin, his thoughts were focused around the young penguin standing to his right, subtly trying to stay away from Rico, who held the last arm. There was only one way to find out what would happen, right?

"At last!" The baboon cheered as the eight animals entered the clearing. She grinned from ear to ear, her grayish fur projecting the moonlight. Instead of looking more appealing though, it looked somewhat eerie, ominous. Everyone seemed to be shivering but her, "Give the last Devil's Arm to me and I will finally be free of this curse! Then you can have them back."

"Rico," Skipper instructed, and the crazed penguin obliged, handing over the final Devil's Arm, the Heart of Chaos. The friendly smile on the baboon's face curved into a deadly smirk.

A book levitated from it's hiding spot. It held it's spot in the air in front of the baboon. She flipped through it's pages, stopping close to the center, and began chanting in some long forgotten language of gibberish as a look of seriousness crossed her expression. A dark aura surrounded her body, and the smirk returned to her face.

She picked up Nebilim, holding up the two blades and throwing her head back, "Muahahahahah... hahahahahahaha!" Skipper's brow raised, confused, "At last, the dark lord has risen!" His eyes widened, as did everyone else's, he's sure. Her eyes, once a deep green, were now a deep crimson. Her grayish fur darkened. Her teeth seemed to sharpen. All in all, Skipper thought she matched the description of a vampire pretty well.

"The dark Lord Nebilim, who made these weapons in the first place?" Kowalski asked, amazed. The baboon nodded, "That's impossible! The dead can't come back! At least, not yet," Oh great, Skipper thought. Kowalski had an idea. Odds are they were going to be fighting undead monsters next week. Considering they see next week, that is.

"Oh, honey, but it is," The baboon smirked, "The dark lord has been reborn, just now. The power of Nebilim shall turn this world to darkness that abides by the order of evil."

"You deceived us..." Private whispered in disbelief.

A sudden rage overcame the Skipper, "You... monster! We won't let you get away with anything! Right boys?" All four of the penguins flipped into combat stance, ready to face their opponent.

Her smirk fell, replaced by a threatening scowl, "You do not stand a chance against the power of the Devil's Arms!" Her eyes began glowing, making her look all the more threatening, "All who interfere shall be consumed by darkness!"

In her grasp, Nebilim started glowing. She outstretched one hand, holding the blade, and charged forward. The eight friends jumped out of the way. Skipper looked to Julian, who landed next to him.

"Get the other lemurs and climb into the trees! We'll handle this!"

"But-"

"Now!" Julian didn't hesitate, running towards the other lemurs. Soon enough Skipper was watching them climbing the nearest tree. At least those three were safe. He then turned back to the battle, to see his men had picked themselves up and were awaiting orders. Skipper charged forward, his team following suit. The baboon easily knocked them backwards. Skipper flipped in midair, landing on his feet. A look to the side revealed that the others had done the same thing.

Rico, true to his nature, regurgitated a rocket launcher and attempted to blow up the treacherous baboon. She merely jumped up and flipped over the missile. Then, using Nebilim, she created a wave of energy and sent it surging towards the psychopath. Rico was knocked backwards, into a tree.

"Rico!" Skipper yelled, then glared at the wicked sorceress. She smirked, proud of herself, until...

"Young lady!" The familiar voice boomed through the air. The penguins and lemurs covered their ears (or earholes, whichever works). There, at the entrance of the clearing, stood Darla and the other two baboons, all three staring angrily at the fourth baboon, "This has gone on long enough! You will-" Whatever she would have said was lost, as another wave of energy knocked all three down at once. The possessed baboon laughed at her former boss.

"You don't understand, do you? I don't work for you anymore. I am the all powerful Nebilim, ruler of darkness, and the lady of evil! I don't listen to you!" She snarled. Skipper glared, trying to figure out just how to defeat her, when she suddenly cried out and fell down. Pinning her was none other than young Private, who discreetly grabbed the twin swords as she kicked him off. "How dare you! I shall destroy you all!"

Skipper sled over to Private, who picked himself off the ground carefully, "Are you alright, soldier?"

"Nevah mind that, sir. Use this and beat that evil demon-lady," Private handed over Nebilim to his leader and friend. Skipper took it, slowly running his flipper alongside it. He could feel... evil power, flowing through it. It almost overwhelmed him, but something kept him ground to reality. The innocent eyes of his friend, protecting him from Nebilim's dark influence. He looked up to see the newborn Lady Nebilim scoff, summoning Soul Eater out of nowhere.

"It doesn't matter, I'll destroy you anyways!" She snapped. She jumped into the air, bringing down her sword on Skipper's head. He held up Nebilim in a cross form to defend himself. The Lady jumped back, swinging Soul Eater again, only to become locked with Nebilim, which Skipper had put up at just the right moment.

The two stared each other down, neither willing to back down. Any change of pressure on the blades could impact the fate of either evil baboon, or good penguin. And, consequentially, the fate of the world. And then, Skipper broke the lock, spinning around and striking Lady Nebilim on the side. She screamed out in agony, dropping the blade and falling to the ground.

"Uah!" She cried. Her entire body shook as her fur lightened. Her teeth descended to their original length, and her eyes turned from red back to green. The dark aura left her body, hovering above her as she writhed in pain.

Skipper looked down at her, "Is it over?" The dark aura moved from it's spot, flying past Skipper, "Whoa! What the-?"

The darkness hovered above Private, who stared at it in a hypnotized state, "...He is calling."

"Who?" Skipper felt his anxiety and worry for the youth grow.

"Nebilim... he wants to devour our souls and turn us into creatures of darkness..." The aura began to descend on him, the Private's eyes darkening to red as the Baboon's had, "...This boy's loneliness and isolation... it is a fitting darkness for my body!"

Skipper's eyes widened. The lemurs jumped down from the tree. Kowalski gasped, "Skipper! Private's being possessed!" The seven animals stared helplessly at Private, "If we don't do something soon, we'll lose him, forever!"

"The Necronomicon..." The voice of Darla wheezed over the group, "If you can disrupt it's power, Nebilim's hold over the child will fade ...hurry..." Skipper didn't waste time. He grabbed the book, noticing the evil energy radiating off the page. Hoping it would work, he shut the book.

Private's eyes went back to blue as he snapped out of his trance. He turned to the others, "I... what was I doing just now?"

"You were possessed by Nebilim," Darla didn't mince words. She stood up, brushing the dirt off of herself, "It seems you are a vessel worthy of the dark lord. Congratulations," The Private quivered, then burst into tears. Skipper was taken aback, though Rico didn't hesitate to comfort him. Darla's voice and expression softened, "You've been hearing the voices of the weapons, haven't you?" The boy didn't stop crying, but nodded.

"T-they kept trying t-to get me to join them. I didn't want to, I swear!" He continued sobbing into Rico's shoulder. Skipper walked up to Private, pulling him from the psychotic penguin. He looked up at Skipper with his big, curious eyes.

"Why didn't you tell us?" He wondered aloud. It wasn't like Private to keep secrets, especially when something's hurting him.

Private looked down, not crying anymore, "I was scared... you would be, too! If you started hearing voices. Especially after she told us that story..." His eyes widened, "Am I really going to be the next lord of darkness?" Darla sighed.

"No, sugah. She just made that story up to scare ya. It seems she knew all along," They looked back to the unconscious baboon, "Skipper? Would you mind arranging a one-way ticket to Hoboken as soon as possible?"

"Not a problem, after all the troubles she caused," Skipper glared at her, then returned his attention to Private, "Ya know, you could have just told us to stop, and we would've."

"But I didn't want to trouble anyone."

"You wouldn't be. If I had known these things were torturing you, I would've stopped collecting them- well, I wouldn't have started collecting them," Skipper stared at Nebilim in disgust, then threw the two blades backwards. One blade's hilt hit Mort in the head, knocking him over. Skipper didn't even look back.

Private smiled, muttering his thanks. The two were interrupted by Darla, "This stupid book has never caused anything but trouble!" The group looked over to see her destroy the book with a spell. She then turned to the others, "I'll make a treasure chest to hold these things, and prevent them from using their powers. In the meanwhile, I entrust them to the penguins," Private whimpered.

Skipper glared at her. "Why us? These things torture Private! What makes you think we'll watch them?"

"Because there will be more victims like your friend unless you help me. Besides, I don't trust the lemurs, and I've just met the otter. And you'll give them back for the same reason you don't want them. I trust you," Skipper looked to the pile of weapons, then to Private.

After a moment of mental debate he sighed, kneeling down to look Private in the eye, "Listen to me. We won't let these things bug you. We'll drown out their voices. I'll... be right by your side, I promise," The boy looked up at him."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Why are these things targeting him in the first place?" Kowalski asked Darla. Instead of the baboon replying, Private spoke up.

"I think... it's because I'm different. Too different from you guys to fit in, too alike to fit in anywhere else. I thought that made me alone," He smiled, "Now I know better."

Darla grinned at the sight of the four penguins together, "Ah, ain't that sweet? I'll come pick them up when the chest is done. In the meanwhile," She turned back to her former assistant, "I'll be dealing with you," She picked her up, hulling her over her shoulders and leaving to return to the zoo. The rest of them followed.

Skipper turned to watch Private converse with Rico, who he hadn't been spending much time with. Things were going back to normal. Young Private was going to be okay.

He would make sure of it.

* * *

**And... the end.**

**NOTES: There is some actual dialogue from the game in here. Abyssion (Nebilim) is the hardest boss in the ToS game. Yes, harder than the final boss. Shocking. Well, at least this chapter turned out okay. I hope.**

**In Kowalski's chapter, she mentioned the Dark Lord rising again. Though it's now obvious, she meant herself, not Private. Odds are she was able to hear the voices, too.**

**Marlene couldn't be in this chapter because it takes place outside the zoo. Poor Marlene.**

**The reason it only took one hit to defeat the baboon was because Nebilim rejected her in favor of Private. Had Private actually been fully possessed, it would've taken a lot more to beat him.**

**Well, now I'll have to work on my next story. Farewell!**


End file.
